Previews

Rise of the Argonauts

Take Jason, along with his Argonaut buddies, on an epic journey to obtain the Golden Fleece in this promising RPG from Codemasters.

Spiffy:

Unique setting; new spin on experience gains; location-based combat should require skill rather than mashing.

Iffy:

The game won't be out until at least 2008.

Rise of the Argonauts is a re-telling of the classic Greek tale of Jason and the Golden Fleece. Developer Liquid Entertainment (Dragonshard) is using this famous mythological backdrop as the setting for its upcoming role-playing game. It's still a long way off (at least a year) but based on what we were shown at E3 behind closed doors, it shows enormous potential for those that love action-based RPGs as well as those who are looking for a strong narrative where dialogue and story matter just as much as chopping off enemy heads.

You play the role of Jason of Iolcus; his bride was murdered and so he gathers his merry band of Argonauts, from Hercules to Atalanta, and sets sail on his massive ship the Argo in search of the legendary Golden Fleece, whose power can resurrect Jason's love.

The Argo serves as your base of operations as you travel from island to island in search of the Fleece. It's also a trophy case of sorts, showcasing your accomplishments throughout the course of the campaign. In addition, the boat is so big that it might attract other followers like blacksmiths or merchants which Jason can use during quest downtime.

The combat occurs in real-time with very little interface clutter; in fact there aren't even any enemy damage bars. You have to judge how hurt an opponent is based on how beat up and bloody they appear. When showing us a boss battle against a giant boar, the boar looked like a mangled mass of flesh after the Argonauts finally killed it. The Argonauts travel with Jason but you do not directly control them. They have special powers and abilities that the AI will use on its own. Hercules, for example, will grab an enemy soldier in a massive bear hug if Jason is nearby; this move is used so that Jason can behead an enemy while Hercules holds them in place. Liquid is going after a brutal cinematic experience and not a number-crunching, inventory-based RPG where you are constantly surveying charts and health bars, and the combat reflects this philosophy.

That's not to say that this is a combo-loving button mashing fest like God of War. Instead of performing a special move by rapidly pressing buttons in a certain sequence, combat is dynamic and location-based. The game models up to 14 locations of the body so you can target specific areas, and they are all independent of one another. For example, if Jason has his shield raised, you'll need to move it to block depending on where the blow is coming from -- this doesn't happen automatically just because he's using his shield. If Jason is using his spear, you can target an enemy's chest so Jason can impale them without using a complicated combo move; it's based more on timing than button memory. If Jason whacks a guy across the chops with a mace, the enemy will react and move accordingly, depending on the direction of the blast and how much force was behind it. Basically, Liquid wants every combat to look and feel like a new experience, and based on what we saw it's heading in the right direction.